The moonlight cast long shadows over the courtyard, stretching over the fallen corpse of Shan Zhen.
The fox stood still for a moment, ears twitching, then muttered:
> "Tch… what was that just now?"
Its paw nudged something faintly glinting on the ground—half-hidden beneath the folds of Shan Zhen's sleeve.
A cracked jade slip.
The fox bent down and picked it up with a flick of Qi, holding it up to the moonlight. Thin fractures webbed through it—yet the spiritual imprint inside still flickered faintly.
> "A message token..."
The fox turned it slowly, inspecting the cracks, then frowned.
> "Almost completed."
Its eyes narrowed, voice turning cold.
> "Damn bastard. He was trying to alert the other two families. If he had infused just a little more Qi—"
It paused, glancing toward the sky where the protective formation still shimmered faintly above.
> "If he had succeeded... the other clans would be swarming here by now. I wouldn't have gotten all my treasures—I'd be running for my life."
It crushed the jade in its paw. The shards crumbled into dust.
> "Hmph. Luckily... he died before he could finish it."
A gleam returned to its eyes—sharp, calculating.
> "Now then... that's one more pouch."
The pouches hanging from its neck—and the one atop its head—both pulsed faintly with spiritual light.
With a quiet hum, they flickered open. The air shimmered.
Shan Zhen's corpse began to glow—a pale, ghostly light clinging to the bloodied robes.
His spirit-marked pouch floated up first, drawn toward the fox's neck-hanging pouch. It vanished with a soft chime as the pouch sealed again.
Then the body itself lifted slowly into the air, weightless.
It floated toward the pouch atop the fox's head.
> Flick.
The corpse slipped inside and the pouch sealed tight with a faint flash.
Silence settled over the courtyard once more.
The lizard hovered silently, golden eyes watching the process. It drifted lower, shrinking its body as it descended.
With a faint flutter, it landed gently atop the pouch on the fox's head—curled like a sentinel.
The fox didn't look up.
> "Alright. One last thing to do."
Its voice was low, calm.
> "But first... let's go find the core of that formation."
A gust of wind whipped through the courtyard—and in an instant, the fox and lizard were gone.
Disappeared without a trace.
---
The fox materialized on the curved roof with the silence of a falling shadow.
It glanced down, eyes narrowed.
> "This is where that cultivator was. The formation core must be inside."
In a single, sinuous leap, it cleared the eaves and landed gently on the pavilion's front rail, tail flicking lazily in the moonlight.
Ahead of the entrance, two human guards startled at the sudden movement. One straightened, hand on his spear.
> "Huh? A fox? Where did it come from?"
The other took a step forward, unease plain on his face.
The fox's turquoise eyes flared—twin coals in the dark. A cool radiance washed over the guards—soft, inevitable. Their faces slackened as the illusion took hold.
> "You two are only in early Qi-refinement," the fox purred, voice like silk over steel. "Guss that's enough to pierce what I weave."
" Though I only need one ".
One guard staggered forward as if pulled by an invisible string. The other dropped to his knees, slumped and pale, eyes vacant. The fox spoke again, slow and deliberate:
> "Go. Fetch your clan head. Hurry. And tell him not to try anything clever—if he delays or resists, your entire clan dies with him."
The standing guard's body moved without will; his lips formed the order. His voice trembled, but he obeyed, stepping away at a run, head bent as if crushed under some unseen weight.
The fox watched him go, expression unreadable. When the courtyard cleared, it whispered just to the lizard on its head:
> "Good. Now we just claim control of the formation before their family head arrives."
It moved, steps light, walking into the building.
---
The guard's steps were uneven, like a marionette tugged by invisible strings. He burst into the clan head's chamber without knocking, chest heaving—though his face remained blank.
Other guards tried to stop him.
Shen Moyu, head of the Shen family, looked up from his desk—linen sleeves, hair silvered—annoyance flickering across his features.
> "What is it that causes you to barge into the pavilion? What's wrong with you? Speak clearly."
The guard's tongue moved, words forced out in a hollow cadence:
> "Clan head—go to the Formation Pavilion at once. Do not attempt any tricks. If you delay or resist, your entire clan will be slaughtered."
> "Huh".
A cold silence fell. Moyu's eyes widened, then narrowed.
> "Who sent this?"
He frowned deeply.
> "He doesn't look like he's in his right mind… more like someone under a spell."
The guard tilted his head as if listening to someone else, pupils glazed.
Then his body collapsed to the ground—like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Moyu stared down at him, murmuring:
> "As I thought… he was sent only to relay a message. The one who sent him must be waiting at Elder Brother Zhen's pavilion."
His voice turned clipped and urgent.
> "Quickly—send word to the elders. Tell them all to gather at Elder Shen Zhen's pavilion. I'll go ahead."
---
One of the guards saluted swiftly, face pale.
> "Yes, Clan Head! I'll send the word immediately!"
They turned and rushed off, while Moyu stood, gaze stormy, Qi already beginning to ripple faintly around his form.